Nurturing Kids

by Towett
22nd-Mar-2022

Given a choice, young children will usually choose to be in a natural environment. They want to be outdoors, in the fresh air and sunlight, barefoot, surrounded by grass, trees, and flowers, hearing the birds and the wind

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Littering is NOT the Only Problem

by Towett
10th-Feb-2022

We need to change the entire system because the plastic and other trash that floats in the world’s oceans actually, some do decompose and release potentially toxic substances into the water

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Dressing to Amaze

by Towett
18th-Nov-2021

Even if it means traversing rough terrains, climbing hills or descending steep valleys and slopes, the mission of pursuing a soul mate largely depends on a strategy invested in preparation.

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Birds defying Gravity

by Towett
13th-Aug-2021

Flight is the most defining and distinct way of feature in birds, But it may surprise you to know that there are more than 60 species of bird alive today that cannot fly

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Devaluation of Donkey’s

by Towett
21st-May-2021

Donkeys remain a central part of life in many rural areas throughout Africa, supporting people’s participation in sectors ranging from agriculture and transport, to tourism and construction.

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Why Radio?

by Towett
4th-Feb-2021

In a world of super-fast broadband internet, analogue radio may seem like an old-fashioned way of getting a message across to hundreds of thousands of people. But when you’re working in one of the poorest and most conflict-ridden

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UNITY IS STRENGTH TO EVERYONE

by Towett
16th-Nov-2020

We all need our families for us to feel secure, strengthened, and confident. When we lose our family members, we feel sad and the family strength is shaken; some of us suffer depression and even die or become sick due to stress that has been caused by that loss. Wild animals also need their families, […]

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Lori made Taita Lady

by Towett
29th-Sep-2020

A few years ago, Amara’s executive director Lori Bergemann was given the great honour of being made part of the tribe in Taita Taveta County. She was named MALEMBA (a Taita name meaning Green Leaves) by the Taita Taveta county council of elders “NJAVUNGO”. She is now a member of the big families. NJAVUNGO are […]

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Corona on Conservation

by Towett
6th-Jul-2020

In a matter of months, the world has been transformed, thousands of people have already died and hundreds more have fallen ill from corona virus that was previously unknown before appearing in a city in China. For millions, who have not even caught the disease, their entire way of life has been changed by it. […]

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How Quickly Time Flies

by Towett
25th-Jun-2020

Time does fly! When we look back at our journey with trees and with all you readers, it brings us immense joy that more & more tree-lovers are not only asking about indigenous trees but also trying to plant a few. We would like to thank all of them for their love and support! I, […]

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Purdue Visit Amara

by Towett
22nd-Jul-2019

We at Amara Conservation believe that a big number of Kenyan children have never seen an elephant before or even the most common of wildlife species due to the associated costs of visiting National Parks in Kenya. For this reason, Amara, together with Purdue University students arranges free field trips into Tsavo East and West […]

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Trees for the Future

by Towett
15th-Feb-2019

Education is the most critically important tool in enabling humankind to survive in all sorts of environments and circumstances. The United Nations Education Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) backs this idea by asking all UN member states to stand firm in supporting children to go to school so that they can become active participants of […]

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All Animals have Feelings

by Towett
28th-Nov-2018

Family is strength for each of us. We all need each other whether close relative or close friend. One family cannot live alone without the other families. We all want to live in a place where there is security, unity, freedom of movement and peace. If insecurity arises in an area we will all want […]

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Trees Are the Lungs of The World

by Towett
19th-Oct-2018

Many humans prefer to live in a place close to markets for food, easy access to hospitals when we are sick, and close to banks for money, along with other commodities that we need. We tend to forget a very crucial and natural free gift from God that gives us life. Trees are often recognized […]

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Trees and Climate Change

by Towett
15th-Aug-2018

Our forests are home to critical wildlife habitat. When our forests are threatened, it also threatens the homes of all the diverse wildlife habitat that live there. Natural disasters, urbanization, and agriculture are just a few of the common causes of deforestation. But as deforestation continues to rise, the animals that call it home start […]

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Our Day In Tsavo West National Park

by Towett
25th-May-2018

The Tsavo West National Park is a section of one of the largest wildlife conservancies on the planet, as well as one of Kenya’s largest wildlife national parks. It is well-known for its resident population of Red Elephants as well as the tale of the Tsavo Man-eaters. Unfortunately, most of the communities bordering these parks […]

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Ecosystems Under Threat

by Towett
11th-Apr-2018

A few weeks ago, the world’s last male Northern White Rhino, Sudan, died at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. With Northern Whites preyed upon to near-extinction, Sudan’s death left just two known alive — Najin and Fatu, his daughter and granddaughter. The news, greeted with unsurprising sadness in the conservation world, played out differently in […]

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Communities Resilience to Climate Change

by Towett
19th-Feb-2018

One practical observation we’ve seen as Amara is how traditional communities always include elements of long-term thinking. The catch-phrase is being aware of how every decision will affect the generations to come, but it’s really more than that, it’s about thinking of how everything will affect the planet and what people sometimes call their “future […]

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How Well Do You Know Your Environment?

by Towett
13th-Dec-2017

There are those in our midst who understand wildlife biology and are expert in their biomes and ecology while others are at home in fields such as sociology, political science, and law. Some of us come to wildlife activism with no other training than a firm conviction that it is the right thing to do—to […]

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Climate Change

by Towett
22nd-Sep-2017

Predictions for our changing climate paint an alarming picture—rising sea levels, changing weather patterns, and increased incidences of natural disaster e.g., the latest hurricanes in USA and Caribbean nations all threaten to greatly impact human life. While climate change impacts everyone, degrading resources and increasing instability will most greatly affect the lives of rural poorer […]

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Communities Role In Disaster Mitigation

by Towett
21st-Jul-2017

Natural disasters have always made man feel helpless in spite of technological advances, for example earthquakes, floods etc. Apart from the trail of death and destruction of human property this leaves behind, it also causes widespread destruction of ecological habitats with lasting effects on the populations of several species. The consequences vary from loss of […]

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Community and Wildlife Conservation

by Jacob Dadi
30th-Jun-2017

Kenya’s Park boundaries were gazetted beginning in 1948. After Independence in 1963, the Kenyan Government put rules in place to stop people from entering the National Parks and the Game Department was set to uphold those laws. Prior to this time, in most places, care for the wildlife and environment had been under the control […]

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Conservation of Nature Knows No Boundaries

by Towett
23rd-Jun-2017

We cannot brush aside problems that are linked to the environment, like internal conflicts, desertification, corruption and poverty. For a moment, we may assume that some of these issues do not concern us, but they do because we do not live in isolation. The international community must know that developed countries bear different responsibilities from […]

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Snakebite

by Isaac Maina
29th-May-2017

Snakes are among the most feared creatures on earth. Despite their colorful appearance and ecological importance, some snakes’ venom can kill in minutes. The fear is however magnified by lack of knowledge about snakes. The fact is, a majority of snakes are non-venomous thus not harmful to humans. Out of about 400 snakes species in […]

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Climate change effects on Maasai communities

by Towett
3rd-May-2017

Climate change is threatening the livelihoods of thousands of Kenyans, and one of the hardest hit communities is the Maasai. Traditionally, the Maasai are herders, who keep large herds of cattle for subsistence. The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people inhabiting southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They are among the best-known local […]

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Human Activities Affecting the Environment

by Lori Bergemann
8th-Feb-2017

Our natural heritage is being threatened by human activities, forests are disappearing at an unprecedented rate, and lakes, rivers and water catchments are being polluted. Our landscapes are being disfigured through day-to-day human activities like quarrying, sand mining, and brick- making along rivers. Our efforts to protect what is left of the biological diversity in […]

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Together we can make a Difference

by Lori Bergemann
17th-Jan-2017

Happy New Year to you, and fabulous 2017 from all of us at Amara Conservation. As I sat here this morning opening the mail, I came across this unsolicited donation. What a nice surprise that from seeing us in action 2 years ago this family member was moved enough to send us this donation from […]

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#TBT on Radio Tsavo

by Lori Bergemann
1st-Dec-2016

We just came across this mix of the programs we made during our radio training program with RadioActive UK. Have a listen! Radio Tsavo is a community based Radio Station- an idea that Amara Conservation had when recognizing the communities in remote areas in Tsavo lack access to a lot of information. Unlike other media […]

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Mbulia Elephant Fence to Secure Dry Season Habitat in the TCA

by Lori Bergemann
14th-Sep-2016

Human-wildlife conflict is a complex issue that is rarely easy to solve. This is particularly true for Mbulia in Taita-Taveta County, Tsavo Kenya. Being, many incidents of human-elephant conflict are recorded every year, undermining food security and destroying the lives of many people as well as injuring and killing wildlife. Small subsistence farmers, who are […]

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Be the change

by Towett
12th-Aug-2016

Elephants are a keystone species. They create and maintain the ecosystems in which they live and make it possible for a myriad of plant and other animal species to live in those environments as well. The loss of elephants gravely affects many species that depend on elephant-maintained ecosystems and causes major habitat chaos and a […]

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The gardener – Elephant

by Lori Bergemann
29th-Jul-2016

Elephants play an important role in maintaining biodiversity. They can be best described as the “Architects of the savannah”and natures constant gardeners, moving great distances foraging which open up dense bush land creating grasslands for grazers. Their knocking over of trees creates microhabitats for smaller creatures like reptiles and insects, which in turn provides food […]

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John visits Amara

by Lori Bergemann
30th-Jun-2016

This month, Amara welcomed John Carver to Kenya, visiting us in the field for the first time, he had an eventful and interesting trip around Kenya. John is an entrepreneur who has been involved in many successful for-profit and non-profit companies, and is on the Board of Directors of Amara USA. He has been a […]

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A day in the park

by Towett
6th-Jun-2016

A huge number of Kenyan children have never seen an elephant before, or even the most common of wildlife species due to the associated costs of visiting National Parks in Kenya. For this reason we at Amara together with Purdue University students arranges free field trips into Tsavo West National Parks, encouraging children to for […]

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Why Kenya burned ivory

by Lori Bergemann
5th-May-2016

The practice of burning ivory dates back to July 1989 when Kenya’s then-President Daniel arap Moi ignited a pile of 12 tones of elephant tusks and helped change global policy on ivory exports. After that, the trade was banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. By burning Ivory, Kenya is protesting the […]

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Lions on the loose

by Lori Bergemann
12th-Apr-2016

Our co-existence with the wild has not been all rosy. HWC has been in existence for as long as people and lions have shared land. The intensity varies with time and place, but it has always been there. It’s an inevitable part of living alongside predators. On the other hand, whenever people are determined enough, […]

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Towett on Snares

by Lori Bergemann
18th-Feb-2016

Lets face it; the media can get us down at the best of times and especially when it comes to conservation. Poaching, especially of elephants and rhino in African continent attracts the attention of media, the sad reality is thousands of other species are also dying on a daily basis through the bush-meat trade as […]

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Community Conservancies Can Be More Profitable Than Farming

by Towett
10th-Jan-2016

Community Conservancies can be more profitable than farming. This depends upon where they are located and what they offer. I personally feel radical measures should be adopted by the County Government of Taita Taveta in order to stop the rampant cases of Human-wildlife conflict. One of the best measures is setting up community conservancies or […]

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What We Do

by Towett
29th-Aug-2011

We work to conserve unique wildlife and critical habitats and promote sustainable livelihoods through environmental education and capacity building working with rural communities in East Africa. Our guiding value is the autonomy of indigenous communities; our awareness that each community is unique and must find its own solutions to the problem of sustainability. Amara’s role […]

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Deforestation in Kenya

by Towett
1st-Sep-2010

One thing that keeps coming up in the press here in Africa, if not in a lot of places worldwide, is the issue of deforestation in Kenya. It’s a huge problem here where many rural people need wood for fuel, and contributes enormously to drought, amongst all the other harmful effects of loss of trees […]

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